Inside
by Starry Requiem
Summary: "You are now in the presence of his Grace, Marluxia, Lord of Castle Oblivion, Ruler of the World that Never Was," / "It seems that my little pet has ran away. The memory witch, she's gone missing." / Terra finds himself trying to undercover the mysteries at Castle Oblivion, finding the lost witch, and trying to keep himself sane. At least Aqua's there to tend to his wounds. / AU.
1. Grace

**A/N: **Hey guys~! I'm back with this AU fic. Well, only slightly. You'll find that a lot of things are similar to canon, but things will be _very _different. The main characters of this story will be Terra and Aqua.

50 prompts. 900 words maximum.

Let's begin. :3

* * *

**The Royal Escape**

x - - pov: _terra - - x_

"You are now in the presence of his Grace, Marluxia, Lord of Castle Oblivion, Ruler of The World That Never Was and Protector of Kingdom Hearts." The boy with on, pale blue hair falling lightly across his face as he spoke. The entire room held 50, or so people, all standing to their feet as Marluxia walked past, making his way to his _throne_.

Terra was almost ready to puke. Everywhere.. On the floor, in the decorative plants, on the throne, in Xigbar's ponytail. Everywhere.

Once Marluxia walked up to the many steps leading up to his throne, instead of sitting, he turned on his heel to face the people in the room.

"As you may have already known, our former leader Xemnas has been _eliminated_." Marluxia began, lacing his fingers together. "But I ask you not to refer to him with his former title. Xemnas was a traitor, and an enemy to us all."

Terra raised an eyebrow, turning to review the faces of all the Nobodies that stood in the room with him. Some relieved, some overjoyed, and some _miserable. _He looked back to the high throne, sixteen steps leading up to their ruler.

Saix and Zexion stood on the highest steps, opposite sides, their leaders sworn protectors.

Larxene was only two steps lower, her head bowed down low to show her respects, but that did not hide the smirk on her face.

Axel took the lowest step. Terra assumed it had something to do with the whispers of him being a traitor.

Terra did not serve Xemnas or Marluxia. He served Master Eraqus.

Who was partners with Master Xehanort.

Ignorantly so, but Eraqus did not listen.

Master Xehanort _ruled _Xemnas, so it was interesting how… this was allowed.

"Saix eliminated Xemnas after learning of his treason, that is why he takes the highest step." Marluxia nodded towards Saix, who simply bowed in respect. "Xemnas named me Lord of Castle Oblivion, so I am next to be in charge. I suggest you get used to calling me _your King._" The sickest smile graced Marluxia's thin lips as he finally sat down, resting upon his throne.

Terra did not know what to say. Shouldn't it have been Xehanort to become ruler, then? And King was such a ridiculous term… he couldn't actually expect people to _refer _to him as that, could he?

Terra was staying in The World That Never Was under the wing of Master Xehanort, under orders of Master Eraqus. Once he failed his Mark of Mastery, Eraqus and Xehanort thought it would be wise to take him elsewhere to learn to control his Darkness.

So they took him to a city created by Darkness.

It was funny. But hey, it had become home.

Sort of.

He missed the grassy fields, and the starry sky. He missed the warm sun, and _his _castle. His Master and his friends. These were all just strangers, expecting him to do his duty.

He had no interest helping the Nobodies gain their hearts and helping Marluxia gain control of all the worlds.

It did strike him as odd that _Saix _was the one who defeated Xemnas. Saix was known for following his master around like a dog. But no one dare told Saix that to his face.

Terra found himself very silent, drowning out the world in front of him until his attention was brought back to reality.

"Master Terra, come forth." Marluxia ordered.

_I am no Master. _Terra thought. He was slow to approach, carefully walking up the steps. Finally reaching the throne, he cleared his throughout. "What is it?"

Marluxia shot Zexion a look, and that's all it took for the boy to begin talking.

"I ask that you kneel in the presence of his Grace, Master Terra."

Terra raised both his eyebrows, slightly chuckling in a 'are-you-serious' manner. But none of their faces budged, they were _extremely _serious.

Tough crowd.

Terra took once last look at Saix, who finally broke expression and slightly nodded for him to do as they said.

So Terra kneeled. He did not speak, he refused to feed Marluxia's ego.

This was all some sort of weird dream. It was all happening so fast.

He would _not _feed anyone's ego.

He simply looked up, and waited for his orders.

"Master Aqua and little Ven is on their way. They will assist you on your current mission, Master Ter-"

"I am no Master." Terra corrected. "That's _not _my title."

"Master Xehanort thinks you've done remarkable progress and named you Master. Your ceremony was to be done later this evening. Sorry for spoiling the surprise." Marluxia smiled.

"That's not how it works." Terra replied, annoyed. "But what is my mission, Marluxia?"

"It seems that my little pet has ran away, it's a shame, really…" Marluxia began, his fingers running along the arm of the throne. "The memory witch. She's gone missing. I need you to retrieve her. She is a Princess, after all."

"Well, she would be, if she had any heart to speak of." Marluxia's lips closed in a fine line, an evil gleam in his eyes.

"Saix will give you any further instructions. That's it. Be gone."

Terra was sure that today, everyone would be testing his temper.


	2. Knight

"We suspect that the witch is hiding out in Twilight Town," The blue-haired man sitting across from Terra explained, almost no particular tone to his voice. "The Keyblade Wielder's other has been sent there, as you already know. We suspect that they may have found each other."

Terra just nodded, all of this beginning to sound very twisted and odd.

"So you and your partners will take refuge in The Old Mansion undercover and see if you find anything. You may visit the Keyblade Wielder if you wish, perhaps he will give you some information."

"And where is he?" Terra asked, attempting to mimic Saix's very perfect straight posture and professional manner. His fingers were laced together, very straight and proper. He never broke eye contact with Terra and spoke very clear.

He may have been the oddest person Terra had ever known. His cool and calm mood was unbreakable. Terra had never even seen him flinch. But there were rumors that once he engaged in combat, he'd turn into a beast.

It all sounded ridiculous to Terra, personally.

Saix never missed a beat, but this particular question took him a moment to answer. After realizing the silence on his part, he cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "In the dungeons."

"Oh."

"Yes. Um," Saix paused, now beginning to fiddle with fingers. "His mind seems to be recovering from the impact the witch made on him. He should be of some help."

"I thought you defeated Xemnas?" Terra raised an eyebrow.

Another pause. "I did."

"Oh."

"Mhm."

Terra paused now. "So why was it necessary to wipe Sora's memory?

"Turns out it wasn't."

"I see."

"A-Are we done here?" Saix asked, slowly lifting himself off his seat.

"When is Aqua and Ven going to be here?" Terra asked, standing up as well.

"They have already arrived. They're waiting in the next room over for you, Terra." Saix led Terra to a tall marble-white door and pushed the handle for him, leading him to his partners.

The room was large, filled with whites and blacks and reds and seats and cushions. Aqua sat on a velvet chair, her blue hair falling against her face as her head shot up, smiling. "Terra!"

Ven was lying on one couch, his forearm falling against his eyes. Once he heard Aqua giggle, he shot up. "Terraaaa!"

He was tackled by his two best friends.

Finally, something felt right. He took both Aqua and Ven in his arms and gave a tight squeeze. They felt warm. They felt human. He had been surrounded by the Nobodies and Darkness for so long, their light radiated him and took him in it's warmth.

He couldn't wait to leave this place.

'I don't mean to interrupt." Saix spoke up, still standing in the doorway. "But I suggest that you three leave almost immediately."

"Should we speak to So-" Aqua began, but Saix glared.

"The prisoner, you mean?" He suggested, making a quick glance between Ven and Aqua.

_'Oh'_ She mouthed, shaking her head. "Yes, should we speak to him first?" Aqua asked, sheepishly.

"Now would not be the time. Terra may come back to do so. Now suit up, and be on your way. Axel and I will be dropping in to deliver your items."

And that's was it. Terra, ecstatic to finally be rid of this place, tapping the piece of armor on his shoulder as did Ven and Aqua and all three of them stood, bright, tall and shining in their armor.

Terra was the tallest of the three, but in his armor he towered over almost anyone. His armor was a beautiful gold decorated with brown lines and red accents hugging his body tightly. He felt unstoppable.

The three warriors, suited up like Knights, walked past Saix leaving him to close the door behind them.

And shortly, they were off.


End file.
